Underestimated
by Rainydaygirl4
Summary: Ginny is discovering who she is, and who she wants to be. Does who she wants to be involve a certain Slytherin? Will Ginny find what she is looking for or will her past get in her way. DG
1. Underestimated

a/n this is my first fan fic that I have put onto the site. I really hope that you enjoy it!   
  
diclaimer: unfortunatetly, the characters of Harry Potter belong to the wonderful jk Rowling. only the plot is mine ;)  
  
`*~Underestimated Love~*`  
  
Ginny looked out the compartment window, staring blankly at the beautiful landscapes spread out in front of her, musing to herself. As she watched the train speed up, all the trees turning into one green jumble, melting one into the other, the girl wondered if maybe that was what love was like, if one person just melted into the other one and you never knew where one ended and the other began. Ginny thought that perhaps she was in love with Harry, but he never showed any interest in her, and if it was true love, then shouldn't he feel the same as her? She turned her head from the window, the flowing trees making her a bit dizzy, as she turned her attention to the three people sharing the compartment with her. There was her brother. Although an insufferable git, still her brother. She had to love him. He had grown just as tall as the twins were at his age, probably surpassing them with an astounding 6 feet 4 inches. He had stayed on as the keeper for the Quidditch team since their fifth year and he had become just as good as Oliver Wood. Then there was Hermione, sitting silently between the two boys, a book in hand, while pretending to listen to them talk about Quidditch. She had definitely grown into her knobbly knees and poofy hair. She always had the rapt attention of all the male population at Hogwarts. Hermione never really noticed this quality in herself, which made her even more desirable. Hermione's eyes had matured into a chocolate brown, deep with intelligence and a sparkle that said she was a woman who knew what she was doing. When Hermione talked, people would listen. Last but not least was Harry. He was the boy who lived, the butt of every Malfoy joke, the keeper of Ginny's heart. He had the sleek build of a seeker, tall and muscular, but small. His hair, no matter how many times he brushed it, would still stick up in the back. Ginny loved that about his hair, it made you just want to run your hands through it. Ginny shook herself as if coming out of a trance. In Ginny's opinion, Harry Potter was the most fit guy in all of Hogwarts, with his deep emerald eyes and his general jovial air that was never superior, that never made anyone feel less important. Unless, of course, you were Ron's little sister.   
  
The object of her musings turned his head towards her, sensing someone was watching him. Ginny quickly averted her eyes, blushing a furious red to match her hair. Ginny was too quick to act and never saw the smile that was playing at Harry's lips. As a distraction, Ginny took out her Muggle romance novel that was about two lovers who were from duelling families, but fought for their love. She found this kind of forbidden love quite romantic. Ginny took out the bookmark from the place she had left her two lovers at and began to read once more. She sneaked a peek at Harry over the top of her book. Thankfully he had gone back to his conversation with Ron, leaving Ginny free to admire him without any interruption.   
  
She didn't get long to do this, when the compartment door was pulled open with copious   
  
amounts of force, making four heads turn at once. In the entranceway was none other then   
  
Malfoy. Ginny rolled her eyes at him; did he not get tired of terrorizing them year after year? She   
  
put her Muggle book down beside her, kind of welcome to the distraction, no matter how   
  
annoyed. The trio was silently glaring at the git, making Ginny roll her eyes yet again. She   
  
looked to Malfoy, who was standing silently at the door; amused at the expressions he was   
  
getting from the trio.   
  
"Malferret, what is it that you want, we're kind of busy trying to ignore you." She said bravely, not   
  
afraid of the sharp Slytherin tongue he came equipped with. Malfoy's grey eyes turned to her,   
  
with a look of admiration in them ,she guessed, but then that look quickly disappeared and was   
  
replaced with contempt.  
  
"Oh, I can see that you're all so busy, " he said sarcastically, "Look, I just came to tell you that   
  
you should be getting on your robes, and Granger, there is a meeting for prefects and Head boy   
  
and girl in the first compartment in the train, right now." With that, he left. Ginny was shocked   
  
and obviously were the other three. He was still the wanker she remembered him to be from last   
  
year; he still had that superior air. Harry and Draco were exact opposites, although equally fit in   
  
the eyes of the students of the female persuasion. Her breath had caught when he had looked   
  
right at her, but she figured it was because they were such an unusual colour. They were a light   
  
grey that he hid all his secrets in. All the girls tried to make him relinquish the keys to them, but   
  
no one had succeeded as of yet. He had this secrecy thing that intrigued all of the girls, even   
  
some of the boys, Ginny mused, and he always seemed to be angry. In the years she had   
  
known Malfoy, she had never once seen him smile. She had often wondered to herself what he   
  
would look like with a smile, but the two were such opposites, she could never picture it without   
  
making him seem evil.   
  
"What was that?" Ginny asked, almost disappointed, "No witty repartee?" Harry laughed at her comment, making Ron and Hermione come out of their trance. He smiled at Ginny, causing her to   
  
blush yet again. She smiled, and turned her focus on Ron and Hermione. Ginny   
  
almost laughed out loud at the expressions of the two, but decided against it. They were still stunned by Malfoys out of character behaviour.  
  
"Well, Hermione, I guess you should get to that meeting." said Ginny. Hermione looked lost for   
  
a second, then realization dawned on her face.  
  
"Oh right, I almost forgot about that," she said, turning to face Harry, "that was a little odd wasn't it? He never said a word about me being a mudblood or you, scarface, or Ron a Muggle lover!" The trio was   
  
thoroughly shocked. Ginny laughed out loud this time, making the three turn to stare at her,   
  
incredulously.  
  
"Look, guys, maybe he was having a bad day and couldn't think of anything to say, or maybe you shouldn't kick a gift horse in the mouth! How long have you guys been saying that you'd wish   
  
he'd just leave you alone! Now that he does, you don't just make a scene about it, you   
  
make a three act play!" Ginny said, getting up out of her seat.  
  
"And where are you going?" asked Ron, acting very brotherly. Ginny had a habit of rolling her   
  
eyes, and continued that habit by doing so at her brother.   
  
"Oh Ron, don't start!" she said, throwing her hands up in frustration, "Did you not just hear what Malfoy said? We should get on our robes!"  
  
"Oh," he said, looking away from his annoyed sister.   
  
Ginny walked out of the compartment, furtively seeking for any trace of the mysterious Malfoy. He had intrigued Ginny in a way that she had never felt before. This was it, Ginny was definately going crazy. She shook her head at herself, and walked off in the direction she hoped was opposite to Malfoy's. Cool and calm eyes watched her as she made her way down the corridor, unfelt or seen by the youngest Weasly.  
  
a/n well, that is it for now....i'm waiting for your feedback before I write another chapter, to see if you liked it at all and if i should bother to keep going.......thank you very much for reading it!!   
  
Magen 


	2. First Glance

a/n this is the second chapter in my story, i hope that i don not disapoint :)   
  
Blackdragonofdeath13: thank you so much for reading and reviewing my story!! I'm really glad that you think so!  
  
I would like to make a shout out to my beta, who is the best ever and is helping me soo much with everything! thanks Samm16.  
  
Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns all characters and anything that you recognize:)   
  
~*`Underestimated Love`*~  
  
Ginny walked alone to the Gryffindor common room. She held her books tight to her chest, lost in her thoughts. This was a regular happening for Ginny, she was always lost in some other world, but she liked it that way for it was better then the real one. This was only the first day back at school, and she was already overwhelmed with her studies. She walked along the familiar corridor, unattentive to anything around her, trusting her feet to know where they were going.   
  
Ginny suddenly felt a strangely familiar pull to her stomach, forcing her to tear her concentration away from her thoughts. She looked up, trying to find the cause of her discomfort, only to find her self coming face to face with Draco. She stopped dead in her tracks, unable to take anther step. She looked straight into his stormy eyes; there was something wrong. She could sense it by the way his eyes clouded over, hiding his deep emotions. She had seen this happen to his eyes a few times over the years, one time when Harry and Ron were making fun of him and his deatheater father. Ginny wanted to reach out and comfort him, to make him see that he was not alone, but she knew that she couldn't do it. Gin just had that feeling that she could help, that it would actually matter if she helped. She had to take a chance. Gin took a step forward, towards him.   
  
"Draco?," she questioned. He turned his face back to her, stopping in front of her. He looked a little surprised that she would be talking to him, that she had the guts to come near him.   
  
"Weaslette, you seem to be in my way, if you would move that would be super." he said, dryly,  
  
"I have places to be." Ginny stared at him hard, unmoving.  
  
"Draco, is there something wrong?" Draco would have gasped, if he was anyone else besides himself. How did this little girl know that there was something wrong, he was a Malfoy and no one can tell if there is something wrong or not with a Malfoy!   
  
His eyes widend slightly, her only inidication that she was on the right track. She reached a hand out to him, wanting to comfort him. He jumped back so fast, almost as if he was burned. Ginny looked away, feeling childish and embarrased. She wanted to hit herself for being so naive, she should have known that he would never want her sympathy. She felt a hand on her chin, forcing her to look up.  
  
"I'm sorry," he said, as Ginny looked into his eyes, seeing real regret in them, "I never meant for that to come out as it did. Ginny, look, do not bother with me ,there is no point." Ginny smiled at him.  
  
"Well, someone needs to bother about you, you git!" she said, laughing slightly. His hand was still on her face, making her distracted. He looked at her, and realized that he was still touching her, and took his hand away. Out of nervousness he shouldn't be feeling, he ran his hand through his hair, making his sleeve travel slightly up his arm, revealing the flesh there. Ginny gasped at what she saw on his arm.  
  
"Draco, where did you get that?" she looked up at him, confused.   
  
a/n sorry it is so short for the moment, but i just wanted to get another chapter out there. :) thx for reading, how about reviewing too!! just a suggestion ;) 


	3. same but different

a/n well, this is the third chapter......i didn't get a hold of my beta to read it for me, but i just really wanted to get this out seeing as how it had been awhile since i last updated! sorry samm16! I'll prolly get it out again soon, with all the errors fixed, sorry! ;p   
  
`*~Underestimated Love~*`  
  
"Draco, where did you get that?" she looked up at him confused. There were angry red marks all over his arm, swelling slightly, as if to tell her they had just happened moments earlier. 'Maybe that is why he looks so strained, so angry..' she mused to herself. She reached out for his arm, only to have him pull away yet again. She looked disheartened, just the look that Draco was used to seeing, but then a fire lit up her eyes. A fire that told Draco he was in trouble. The kind of trouble a Malfoy didn't get himself in.   
  
"What happened, Draco? you can tell me, I'm on your side." she conforted. Draco looked away from her compassionate eyes. He wanted to just give in to her pull, but he knew that he was Malfoy, he knew his place. He couldn't help it, but he just wanted to let all the years of torment that he had suffered out, to let Ginny see who he really was. But did he even know who he was? No, his father had stolen his idenity from him. 'Maybe it was time to steal it back,' he mused treasoninlgy to himself. He felt her warm hand encompass his arm, letting him know her presence. He looked down at her frail hand, glaring. Her hand did not move from its compromising position, which only surprised the seventh year slytherin more. He looked yet again into her eyes. The look in her eyes was getting to him, they were clear, pure, if you will, and showing him all the pain that she too had gone through. Draco suddenly became enraged, for all the times he had been hurt, all the times he had hurt, and all the times this young girl had hurt. He reprimanded himself for even thinking in that self pitying way. He pulled his arm violently away, forcing Ginny to take a step back.  
  
"Are we really on the same side, Weasly, do you really think so?" he asked viciously. Ginny looked away, at a loss for words. Draco felt a sudden pang in his heart, and a little voice in his head tried to speak up, but he silenced them both. He hardened his heart from the wiles of this girl, probably the only one who could it.  
  
"Look, Weasly, just stay out of my business, and I'll stay out of yours." he said, turning to go.   
  
"Draco, stop!" she said, in a commmanding voice, forcing him refrain from taking anymore steps to freedom. He turned around reluctantly, putting an annoyed look on his face.  
  
"Everyone has turned their back on you, everyone has ignored you thinking you could be no more then they think you are, no more then they want you to be. Let me tell you something, Malfoy, I am on your side whether or not you believe it. I am probably the only one too. Think about it, I just want you to know that I'll be around." she said. Her speech was, on the whole, right about him, but he wasn't about to admit that. He could tell by the passion in voice that she had gone through exactly what she had said about him. He just stood there, glaring openly at her. The smile that played at her lips was one of knowing, for she knew that despite the look of horrid disbelief and hatred, he understood her words. Ginny kept on walking the way that she was going, looking back once to give him another view of the coy smile she wore. He just stared after her, unmoving except for his heart. 'I have to go and see the healer about that' he thought icily, trying to get the ice in his mind to encompass his unusually warm heart, to no avail. Knowing defeat, he then stormed off in the oppostie direction as the little weasel.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Ginny walked the rest of the way to her common room in disbelief. Had she just done that? Just talked openly to the Ice King? Maybe her long surpressed self was finally coming to the surface. She reached the portrait that hung before the entrance to the Gryffindor tower.   
  
"hipogriff," she said absently to the fat lady in the portrait. The lady let the portrait slide open, with barely a squeak. Ginny walked noislessly into the common room, still lost in her musings, not watching where she put her accident prone feet. Ginny suddenly felt her feet lift from under her and felt herself fall. She watched, as if in slow motion, the ground come closer and closer. She hit the ground with a thump.   
  
"ow!," she screeched. She had landed, hitting her ankle agains the side of the couch.   
  
"Oi, Gin," came the voice of her brother, "next time, watch where you're goin'! You're always off in la-la land!" he scoffed at her, then turned back to the conversation he was having with Hermione and Harry. People around her were snickering openly. She helped herself up using the couch as a crutch, deeply peeved.  
  
"Thanks, tips!," she said loudly to her git of a brother, "maybe next time, you'll help me up!". Ron just rolled his eyes at her, and again turned back to the other 2 that made up the golden trio. She gingerly tested her ankle. It was a little sore, but nothing that she couldn't handle. She was dusting off her skirt, when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She jumped, landing awkwardly on her ankle.  
  
"Ginny?" asked Harry from behind her, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you..." Ginny turned to face him, mustering up a smile that she didn't feel she had in her.   
  
"It's alright Harry, no harm done," she said, trying not to let on that her ankle was throbbing.   
  
He smiled that dazzling smile of his, one filled with boyish charm. Ginny almost melted right there, but she contained herself. She was surprised that he was even talking to her, he barely spoke to her at all. 'Lately,' she thought to herself, 'he had been, I don't know, warm, to me'. Ginny was slightly confused at Harry's sudden interest in her.   
  
"Well, I just came over to check on you. Sorry Ron was being such a git, he gets like that sometimes." He said, covering for her brother, if you could call him that. It was Ginny's turn to roll her eyes.   
  
"You don't have to make excuses for him, Harry, I know that he is a narcissistic, egotistical, self absorbed wanker, I have known him for 16 years, you know." she said, placing her hands on her ample hips. Harry stepped back a little, eyeing the raging red heads look of utter disgust and defiance. Ginny knew that she was probably red, close to the colour of her shocking hair. She felt a patter in heart, filled with regret as she looked down at her clumsy feet, cursing them.   
  
"Harry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to take it out on you. I just...oh, I don't know. I don't understand anything anymore..." she said, throwing up her hands in frustration. The pain of her ankle mixed with the utter hopelessness in her heart, made tears form at the back of her eyes. She willed them not to come, but too late. Harry had seen her tear up, like a little baby. 'Just great,' she thought sarcastically. He looked a little startled, but recovered his composure. He moved to stand beside her, placing a comforting arm around her shoulder.  
  
"Ah, Gin, don't worry about your prat of a brother. He is just going through a time in his life where he doesn't think he needs his little sister. Don't worry, me and 'Mione wil make him see his grave mistake!". Ginny smiled weakly at his attempt to comfort her. She let herself lean into his arm, while she rested her head on his shoulder. Ginny was in heaven. Harry had this intriguing smell about him, it was like the smell of the woods mixed with that freshly off the clothes line scent. It was clouding her thoughts. He lifted his arm from her shoulder, breaking her thoughts of reverie, causing her head to fall gracelessly off his shoulder. She felt like stomping her foot, but she knew that was childish. She looked up at Harry, sure as not to let him see her frustration.   
  
"Well, I'm glad I could make you feel better, Gin. Don't give up on your brother yet!" he said as a way of parting, as he waved and walked back towards the rest of the trio. She stared after him, until she remembered that she was late in meeting her friend Colin at the library, he would be livid! Ginny ran up the staircase to her room (only tripping once!), and grabbed her books, and headed off towards the library for a night of homework. Like any other night! Or would it be?...  
  
a/n i would really like to thank the people who have read my story!  
  
Jamius Craven-yeah, I had hoped people would think that!! No, its not the drak mark. Don't worry, Draco's still cool! :) 


	4. Inner thoughts and Ponderings

~*~*~*~Underestimated Love~*~*~*~  
  
disclaimer: I own nothing that is of the wonderful Jk Rowling!   
  
chap4: Inner thoughts and ponderings  
  
Ginny ran as fast as she could to get to the library, she was already half an hour late! She burst through the double antique doors of the library,panting for air. She looked around the library, her brown eyes searching for a dusty blond head. Before her eyes rested on Colin, they met cool grey ones, Draco seemed to be assesing her. She gave him a confused look, and decided to ponder it later as she walked over to the table where Colin sat.  
  
Colin was hunched over a huge book, writing furiously. He started as he heard her sit down, then got his composure back, eyeing her annoyingly.  
  
"Ginny, you're late! This is due at the end of the week, we have to get it done or we're never going to graduate!!" he whispered ferociously, not wanting to alert madame Pince to their conversation. Ginny rolled her eyes at her beset friend.  
  
"Colin, don't be overdramatic! I'm sorry, look, just alot has been happening lately. I just got a little sidetracked." She said, looking away from the intense stare he was giving her. 'please don't ask, please don't ask,' she mentally chanted. Colin looked at her thoughtfully.  
  
"Gin, what's up?" he asked simply. Not so simple for Ginny to answer. She met his eyes, unable to keep anything from him. Even if she tried, he would find out eventually, for he could read into her like he could read into the pictures he takes. Ginny gave in and told him all about her chance encounter with Malfoy and how it made her all confused and then the run in with that stupid couch, that lead to the run in with Ron, then that dissapointing moment with Harry.  
  
"I just don't know what to do about Harry anymore, I keep getting mixed signals!" She said exasperately, placing her head in her hands. Colin scooted his chair over so he was sitting right next to her. He placed his hand comfortingly on her back, rubbing softly.  
  
"Ginbug, it's going to be okay. I think that Harry is giving you mixed signals because he is confused with the feelings he has for you," Ginny looked at him skeptically, Colin laughed at this. "or, he could just be blind to the wonderful girl that you are, and is going to miss you when some special guy comes along and steals your heart away." Ginny smiled brightly. But, she still wanted that guy to be Harry, right?  
  
"You always know how to cheer a girl up, Col, thanks!" She gathered him into a big hug.  
  
They didn't realize that they had had an audience. Draco was watching their every move from his table, not very far away. He couldn't help the feeling of envy that crept in from the back of his mind, by way of his heart. He tore his stare away from the happy couple, scolding himself. Rule number one: A Malfoy should never feel want or envy for anyone or anything. From his downcast face, he peered up at the two, unable to stop his eyes from connecting themselves to Ginny Weasly small, but mature frame. She let go of Colin, sitting back down in the padded chair. He watched her graceful movements. 'She should have been born rich, she definately has the poise for it,' he thought to himself. He shook his head, tearing his eyes away. He had to stop thinking of her, there is nothing that she could do for him. He might aswell just forget the compassion he saw in her delicate face when she saw his arm, try to forget the way her hair bounces around her, framing her angelic face, or try to forget.....this wasn't helping. He punched his fist hard onto the table, making a large bang eminate from it.  
  
Ginny jumped a little as she heard something, a noise, come from the otherside of the library. She looked up from her potions essay, trying to find the cause of the bang that had ripped through her ponderings. She eyed the only other person in the library, Draco. He was looking malevolent, as he was staring at his fingers, fuming.   
  
"What's wrong with him?" she asked herself. Colin looked up at her, confused.  
  
"Up with who?" he asked. Ginny looked away from Malfoy, not wanting Colin to know.  
  
"Uh, no one, it's this stupid essay on potions, whats up with Snape?" she said, trying her best to cover. Colin just rolled his eyes at her.  
  
"Well, duh, he has a stick up his ass! But we've always known that, what's really up?" Ginny looked away from Col, blushing slightly. Her eye caught site of Malfoy again. He was getting up to leave.   
  
"Um, don't worry about it Col, but I hafta go." she said quickly, gathering all of her books in her arms, and running for the door, right after Malfoy. Col never even got a word in edge wise. 'Sorry Col, but I have to know if he's okay, don't ask why, I just do,' she thought to herself. She followed him all the way to his comon room. She tried to stay far away from him, not to draw attention to herself. She was peering around the corner, when he stopped in front of a statue of a hissing snake.  
  
"You can stop following me now Weaslette," he said, startling her. She walked from around the corner.  
  
"Wha-?" she said, shocked, "how did you know that I was following you?" He turned to look at her, smirking.  
  
"How could I not, Weasly? You're not very good at trying to be inconspicuous." he said, laughing at her. She stared at him, wide eyed. That was the first time she had ever heard him laugh.  
  
"You should do that more often." she stated, unknowingly voicing her opinions outloud. It was his turn to look shocked.  
  
"What?" he asked, "insult you some more? I can do that." Ginny rolled her eyes at him.  
  
"No, I meant laugh more!" she said, angry now that he was being such a prat. She turned on her heels to go, leaving the ferret to ponder her words alone. But, of course, being a Malfoy and a Slytherin, he had to get the last word.  
  
"I would, if you stayed." he said, non-chalantly, making Ginny turn around to stare at him. She was sure doing alot of that tonight. She saw the look in his eyes, he wasn't joking around with her, he was being sincere. She peered deeper into his calm eyes, trying to find any left over maliciousness, but she found none. Her confused look, quickly turned into a full fledged smile, as she waslked towards him.  
  
"Sure."  
  
a/n Well, there you have it, the 4th chapter, I hope that you liked it. I tried to leave it at a cliffie. operative word there is tried! haha. newhoish......please review! I thrive on reviews!  
  
Merlinsmagic: thank you so much for reviewing!! yes, it definately is, I just didn'twant to rush it :) thanks for reading!  
  
Samm16: thanks!! :) loves and cares! 


	5. Revealing

~*~*~*~Underestimated~*~*~*~  
  
disclaimer: nothing that is of the Harry Potter Genre is mine  
  
Chapter 5  
  
Revealing  
  
"Sure," she said, against her better judgement. To her surprise, he didn't open the door with the snake on it, he motioned her to folow him, furthur down the corridor. The corridor was very dark and omnious, making her shiver. Draco reached back, noticing her obvious discomfort, towards her, and grabbed her hand. She jumped a little at the human contact, but immediately felt warmth travel through her body, combatting the cold. She smiled unknowingly, following the Slytherin Prince into the darkness, believeing their was light at the end.  
  
"Where are we going, Draco?" she asked. She said it barely above a whisper, for the corridor seemed to demand silence.   
  
"You'll see, Weasly." he answered.   
  
"oh," she said, and fell silent again. It dissapointed her slightly that he didn't use her first name, but he was probably just used to saying Weasly, right? Ginny sighed, causing Draco to look back at her, a strange look gracing his face. She smiled weakly, and looked away.  
  
It seemed like they had been walking forever, turning down this corridor, and that. Finally, they came to an inconspicious door, that she would have just walked by if it hadn't been for Draco. He stopped so suddenly that Ginny slammed into him.  
  
"Oof," she muttered, "oh, sorry, Draco." she said sheepishly. He just ignored her pathetic mutterings. He said something under his breath to the door. The door faded away to reveal the Malfoy family crest. Ginny gasped. The inertwining snakes slithered around the door, framing it. The door looked very heavy, probably made of pure silver, with a celtic knot in the centre, with the Malfoy family motto outling it. Draco placed his ring in the mouth of one of the snakes. The door began to glow a flourescent green, creaking open. Ginny waited, peering at the door, patiently awaiting the door to be fully open so she could see what was inside.   
  
Draco was watching her antcipation with an actual smile playing at his lips. He hadn't known what had possesed him to ask her to stay, it was very unMalfoy, he didn't care though. He wanted to show her everything about him. She was the first person to ever see past the front he had concoted, trying to disguise himself. He had a weird knotting in his chest, that was quite foregin to him. It had started when he had taken her hand in the dark corridor. She had not immediately ripped her hand from his, she had let him hold it. He was astoinded at himself for even grabbing her hand in the first place, but he had wanted her to see that he wasn't going to hurt her, that she was safe with him. He was looking down at Ginny, her face and body outlined by the green glow of the room. He was grinning at her, when suddenly her body became stiff, with what he thought was fear. He was startled out of his reverie, as he tore his eyes away from her, looking in the direction she was. There he was, standing at the hearth, non chalantly swirling his brandy in his cupped glass, staring into the open flames of the fire. Draco felt rage boil up inside of him that he had never felt before. What was he doing here? Why now? Draco's eyes became cold and hard, as he stared at the figure before them. The person in question turned to stare at them both, his thin mouth turning into an evil grin. Draco recognized this grin, and he turned to look at Ginny. She looked up at him, confusion and fear mingled in her eyes. He tried to apologize with his eyes, but they were too filled with hate and anger, he didn't know if she understood. The figure started to advance on them.  
  
"Ginny!" Draco yelled, "Run!"  
  
a/n sorry for the shortness, but I wanted to get something out before I left for Hawaii. I'm going to be gone for 10 days. The plot will be swirling around in my head while I'm there, so hopefully I'll have a good chapter for when I come back! :)  
  
Merlinsmagic : I'm really glad that you still like it! :) I'm sorry ths chapter isn't as long as others though..:(  
  
Lord-Of-The-World : I'm really glad that you like my story!! that means tons to me! :)  
  
Samm16: haha, in a way, yes! heetee  
  
Nichole Malfoy: Thank you very much! yay!  
  
I would jsut like to say a thank you to everyone who read my story, you should have seen me when I checked my stats and I had 10 reviews! I was jumping all around my room, heetee, I am such a dork!! haha!! but, yeah, thanks!! :):)  
  
loves and cares, Magen  
  
Reviews are fun!! :) 


	6. Betrayal

Underestimated

Disclaimer: none of it is mine, except perhaps the plot :) JKR rocks:)

Chapter 6

Betrayal

Ginny stood there, as she watched the anger in Draco's face. How could he have done this to her! She thought that they were becoming friends. How did he know? How could he have known about her? Dumbledore said that she was safe, that she didn't need to hide as long as she was in Hogwarts. She heard Draco yell something at her, with such urgency, but she had too much going on in her mind. She felt a blinding pain start in her head, and knew that he was trying to disarm her. She wasn't going to let that happen, she was going to fight. She placed both of her hands on either side of her face, covering her ears, as to try to focus all of her energy. They would never get it, never, she would rather die then give it up.

Draco stared at Ginny, why wasn't she moving? He looked from his father to her, and back. He had his wand out and was muttering something, and he saw that Ginny was concentrating hard. He wanted to know what was going on, but he knew that could wait, for his father was doing something to hurt Gin, and he had to stop him. Draco lunged at his father, surprising him, but not before Ginny fell to the ground, the force too much for her. Draco's father punched him soundly on the mouth, drawing blood. This caused Draco to fall to the floor, as his father recovered his fallen wand. He pointed it at his son, never flinching.

"What in the name of Merlin are you doing?" he asked in that slimy voice of his, "you're ruining the Lord's plan, do not interfere!" Draco stood, and stared his father square in the eye, and smirked.

"I _will_ interfere, father," he said, as he lunged at him again. His father was one second quicker then him and had screamed a curse at him, the Crustacious. Draco writhed in pain, dropping to his knees, but he would not scream, he refused to. He stared his father straight in the eye, his body twitching.

"Stop staring, you imbecile!" yelled his father, obviously unnerved by his unflinching glare. Draco smirked despite the pain, and his father growled. Draco didn't know what hit him after that, but it hit him hard. His father had yelled another curse. It felt like something was ripping at his flesh, and Draco looked down at his body, and saw blood coming from everywhere. The pain was getting too much, but he had to protect Gin, for he saw his father go over to her, and picked her limp form up off the ground.

"No-" he said, reaching his hand out, trying to get to her. But he had lost too much blood, and the darkness finally came to claim him. His last thought was of Ginny, and how he had failed her.

Ginny woke up to a numb feeling in her head, like her brain had been split into two. She was disorientated as she opened her eyes, not knowing where in the name of Merlin she was. She surveyed the room. It had hard, grey, stone walls, that were dripping wet, like it was underground. The room was actually quite large, with all the furnishings that a Princess would receive, including a bed. Gin noted that the bed was very large, and very comfortable. That made her even more worrisome than if she were waking up in a dungeon. But her state was not what was on her mind at the moment, what she wanted to know was how Draco could do that to her. She didn't understand. She thought that they were going to be friends. How could she have been so naive. This was all her fault for actually trusting a Malfoy, well, she would never make that mistake again. She hoped that Ron was kicking his ass right now.

"Oh, Ron-" she said, actually missing her overbearing brother.

"No need to fret my dear," said a slithering voice in her ear. Virginia jumped at the intrusion. She looked to her left, and saw nothing. She looked around warily, as she inched to the far end of the bed.

"W-who-o's th-here?" she asked, shaking slightly as a draft entered the room. The double oak doors banged open, as if by the sheer force of a powerful wind. Gin screamed from fright. The room became very dark and silent. Ginny looked ahead of her, and all she saw were two red eyes, that were so demonic she shuttered from pure loathing. The eyes were coming closer and closer to her, and Ginny dreaded when it would finally arrive at her bed. The lights came on as quickly as they went off, but this time they were dimmer. Ginny saw around the room that there were floating candles everywhere, making an ominous glow emanate around the damp room.

Virginia looked at her capture for the first time, and she had no doubt in her mind who it was.

"Voldemort," she said, fear leaving her. He smirked, as much as you can without lips, that is.

"Ah, so the witch has heard of me! I am utterly flattered," he stated dryly. Ginny rolled her eyes at his sarcasm.

"What am I doing here? Why have you taken me?"

"You must know why you are here, young witch. But it wasn't I who took you, you know very well that it was your friend, Draco." he said, confirming her fears. He looked away from her, smirking, " a fine young slave he has turned out to be, he lead me straight to you!"Ginny looked away, as tears threatened to come.

"Ah, so I've hit a nerve have I, I shall remember that. Now, getting down to business. You have what we want, so hand it over." Ginny looked up to him, meeting him eye to eye, "It is not that simple," she said calmly, "one, I'm never going to give it up, and two, I can't just give it to you." Voldermort looked slightly taken aback by her tone, he did not like it when his subjects were not afraid of him. He would fix this little problem right away. Ginny saw his eyes flare, and then felt a burning hot sensation begin in her bones, then spread throughout her entire body, as if she were being engulfed in flames. Then she felt as if she were being stabbed repeatedly all over her body. She couldn't take the pain, and screamed out. Voldermort let her writhe in pain for another excruciating minute, then took off the curses. She fell back on to the bed, her whole body aching.

"There, now, that wasn't too bad, in fact, I quite enjoyed it!" he laughed diabolically, as he got up to leave.

"We will talk again, and do not worry, I will get what I want, even if I have to tear you open to get it."

Ginny just layed there, unable to move, as teas fell unchecked down her cheeks. She needed help, she wouldn't be able to do this alone.

A/n: I am soooooo sorry that I haven't updated in what seems like years, haha. I don't know what happened, I hadn't written a word at all in a very long time. Tonight I got the sudden urge to start again, and to this time, actually finish it! I would like to thank my reviewers of the last chapter. Please don't be too mad at me!

**Samm16**- it is very true, its almost been a year since I got back! Haha! Sorry!

**MoonlightPrincess**- I am very very sorry to leave you like that, and I hope that you like my new chapter. I promise that you wont have to wait a year to read the next chapter hha

**bigreader**-I hope that this chapter was even scarier. Thanks for the review, and sorry that it has taken me so long to update:)

**dracolovesginny**-Wow, that was a great review, you made me smile so much! You really understand my portrayal of Draco, yay:) Sorry it has taken me so long to update!


	7. Truth amongst the Lies

Underestimated

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything that you recognize.

Chapter 7: Truth Amongst the Lies

Ron sat quiescently in the armchair at the front of the fire. He stared at the flowing flames, as he silently came unglued. Harry was very worried about his friend, his sister had gone missing two days beforehand, and Ron hadn't spoken since. That was not at all like him, Harry was waiting for him to unhinge at any second, but he always just sat there. That's what scared Harry the most.

"Ron?" he voiced, timidly, not wanting to disturb him, "are you okay?" Ron nodded slowly, not taking his eyes away from the mesmerizing fire. Harry sighed, that was not the truth, but he knew that Ron didn't talk unless he absolutely wanted to; he did not want to push him, especially in the state that he was in. Harry got up to leave, as soundlessly as he could.

"It's just that-" Ron started, his voice sounding raspy from lack of use. Harry stood, and walked over to Ron, surprised that he had said something.

"That what?" he asked, eager to hear what was going on inside his friend's head. Ron looked at Harry, really looked at him, not just through him, for the first time since Gin went missing. His eyes had lost their brilliance that they had once boasted, and were now filled with regret. Harry searched for the hope he wished would be there, but found none.

"Just that, it's all my fault, that she's gone," Ron said, "I'm her big brother, I should have been there for her, I should have protected her." Ron felt a diminutive bit better at voicing what he had felt for so long. He knew that if he had watched over her more then this wouldn't have happened. He thought that she was irritating, always by his side, but now he knew that he needed her. He had missed her this past year, he wanted her to be apart of his life again, not just by blood. Now, it was plausibly too late.

Harry could see that he had lost him again. This was ridiculous, he wasn't going to sit idly by while his friend ate away at himself. He steeled his outer countenance, and pushed Ron out of that damn chair.

"OY!" Ron yelped, as he glared up at Harry from the floor. Harry just glared back, unshrinking.

"Ronald Weasly, I will not tolerate all this moping around any longer!!" he yelled, causing some of the occupants of the room to turn and listen, "You did not let me sit there and feel sorry for myself when I lost Sirius, and now I am returning the favour! You can just sit there and gripe or you can do something! You can find her, and bring her back!" Harry was red in the face, and heaving from anger, but he felt better for finally telling Ron how selfish he was being. Ron stared up at Harry. He hadn't seem Harry this riled up for a long time. He knew inside that Harry was right, that he needed to find her himself, he needed to show her that he really did care for her, and that he was looking for her. Harry saw some hope return to his friends eyes, and smiled. He reached out his hand to help him up. Ron grabbed it, and pulled himself up, brushing himself off as he did.

"Thanks mate," he said, smiling knowingly, "I'm sorry I've been such a pain in the arse," Harry laughed, and nodded.

"That you have been, but I think we can forgive you. Now, where to start!"

Madame Pomfrey stood over the still body of one Draco Malfoy. This young man had been through a terrible lot throughout his young life. Tears started to well up in the older woman's eyes, as she placed a shaking hand over her mouth.

"It will be alright, Pomfrey, he is a strong lad," said a comforting voice from behind her. You'd think that after all of her years working here that she would be used to Dumbledore's surprise visits. But, alas, the elder man was always showing up when she least expected it.

"I know, Albus, but he has been through so much already," she stated, her eyes blurry from the unshed tears. Albus smiled kindly at her.

"I know, now, why don't you go get some sleep," he said, and she looked as if she was going to say no, "don't worry, I'll stay with him." At that Pomfrey nodded, and with one last look, she left the infirmary for her chambers.

Albus Dumbeldore settled himself in the chair beside Draco's bed. He had known for awhile that Draco was in for the fight of his life, and he had figured that Ms. Weasly was going to be the one to start it. Merely because Ginny was special, she had a power in her that, when unleashed, could very well destroy the magical world. This was the power that Draco's master was after, and this was the power that Draco had no clue that one day he was going to share. Draco's soft moans brought Albus out of his musings. Draco was awakening.

"Mr. Malfoy, do not be worried, you are in the infirmary. You sustained some major injuries, but they're healing quite nicely under the watchful eye of Ms. Pomfrey," he said, as Draco was slowly opening his eyes. Draco looked at his headmaster, nodding to what he had just told him. Those were not the questions he was going to ask.

"Headmaster, where is Gi-Weasly?" he asked, trying to be nonchalant. Albus merely smiled that knowing smile of his.

"She, sadly, was taken Mr. Malfoy, and we feel that you know more about this then we do," he stated, knowing that the young Malfoy heir would help them in any way that he could.

"Damn it," he said, as he looked away from the headmaster. Draco had hoped that maybe Gin had gotten away. He knew, deep down, that she couldn't of. His father was very strong, and would use any means necessary to get what he wanted, or what his master wanted.

"All I know is that Voldemort wanted her for some reason that I was not privy to, and that my father was the one that took her. Honestly, Headmaster, I had nothing to do with it! I was told that it was my duty to trick her into a trap they were to set, but I had refused," he said, wanting him to understand that he would never hurt her, that he never wanted her to be taken.

"We have to find her!! He could already have killed her by now!! We _need_ to get her back!" he yelled, as his frustration and anger grew. Why had nobody gone to find her? Why was Albus still here and not gone to find her? Albus was merely looking at him with a curious look on his face. It was infuriating.

"Why haven't you gone after them?" he asked, clearly disrespecting his superior. Dumbeldore looked unfazed by his outburst.

"We needed to know more, Draco, and you were the one that was there when it happened, you were the closest to the situation. And no, she isn't dead," he stated matter-of-factly.

"How in the bloody hell would you know if she was dead or not?" he asked giving Dumbeldore and incredulous look. The man was seriously insane.

"Because I'm not,"

Back in the Gryffindor dorms the two friends were pacing in front of the fire, trying to find a beginning to their crusade.

"We need to get to Malfoy, " said Ron, "I know that this whole getting hurt thing is just a guise! He was in on it, I am sure! He did this to her, and I want him to pay!" Ron was seething with anger, as he gestured angrily around with his arms, missing Harry's head by an inch.

"Calm down, Ron, we need you level headed if we're going to get her back, but I agree we need to go and see Malfoy. He has the answers we need to start this." Harry agreed with his best friend. He didn't trust the slimy git as far as he could throw him, but he also knew that killing him before we got the answers we needed was out of the question. No matter how much he wanted to.

Ron and Harry came up with a plan to sneak into the infirmary that night when everyone was asleep. They decided not to tell Hermione because she would tell how stupid the plan was and that they should let Albus and the order take care of it. That should have been a clue to him that maybe it was not the best plan, but they wanted so much to figure out a way to get her back, that they didn't care. They needed answers, and Draco, at the moment was their only hope. That did not bode well with the boy who lived, but he had no other choice.

Mere hours after their plan was set, the two boys stood in front of the double doors of the infirmary. They peered inside through the windows on the door. They looked at each other, and at Harry's nod, they opened the doors as silently as possible. They had spotted the ferret laying on the bed closest to the office.

"The git has the nerve to actually sleep? I can't wait to tear him limb from limb," said a very angry Ron, as his hands turned in to fists. Harry glanced at his best friend as his knuckles turned white.

"Ron, stop it, you know why we're here, just think about Ginny," said Harry in a frustrated whisper, trying to calm him, "as much as I don't want to admit it, we need him," Ron nodded, as he let his hands and body relax. They made their way over to the cot, and stared down at their arch nemesis. They had no idea how badly he had actually gotten hurt. The usual flawless face of Malfoy was now covered in deep gashes and purple coloured bruises. They could only imagine what the rest of his body looked like. Harry, at the site of his injuries, started to second guess himself. Was it possible that Draco really had nothing to do with this? Dumbeldore seemed to think that he didn't, he had always trusted the elder wizard, why not this time? Harry shook his head, trying to get the treacherous thoughts out of his head. There was no way that Draco had nothing to do with this. She was taken from _his_ room, by _his_ deatheater father!

"What the bloody hell are you two gits doing here?" asked a harsh, but raspy voice of the bed ridden boy. Harry and Ron jumped at the sound of his voice. They had thought that he was still asleep.

"We could ask the same thing of you, _Malfoy_," seethed Ron, as he glared at him, "why are you still under the protective custody of Hogwarts when you should be in Azkaban?" Harry nodded in agreement with his friends question. Draco angrily pushed himself up into a sitting position. He pulled his sleeve, revealing his forearm that had many of the same wounds on it as his face. But the mark that the two had expected to be there, was not there. The two gave each other looks of disbelief. Harry quickly checked himself.

"That means nothing, _Malfoy,_ maybe this deed was your last mission before they let you become a full fledged Deatheater. If you think that you can fool us just like that, then you have sorely underestimated us." Harry seethed at the blonde wonder, insulted. Draco rolled his eyes at the pair before him.

"Or maybe you have _over_estimated me!" he yelled, getting annoyed with the two Gryffindors. They still had looks of disbelief on their faces. "I am not, nor will I ever be, a Deatheater. I do not care if you two dolts don't believe me, for I do not need you to. I know what happened, and why, and I do not need your help getting her back." As he finished his outburst, he pushed his blankets off of himself, and let his feet slide off the bed to the floor. The two were still standing before him, staring, and Draco merely rolled his eyes again.

"Do you mind, I am kind of in a hurry!" he said, peeved that they were in his way.

"But, why would you want to go after her too?" asked Ron, sorely confused. Was he telling the truth, did he want to get her back as much as they did?

"Why haven't you already gone after her?" Draco bit back, angered., "you call yourself her family? HA! Pathetic, really, you don't even have the balls to save her yourselves. Pathetic." Ron stepped towards him, itching for a fight. Draco responded to his advancement by pulling himself up to his full height. Sure, he was not as tall as the Weasly, but he was just as strong, if not stronger. The two stared at each other, as Harry just shook his head.

"This is getting us no where!" he screamed in frustration, "We all want her back, for reasons of our very own, we don't need to know why, we just need to realize that she is in danger, and needs our help!" Draco tore his stormy gray eyes away from Ron, as he stared at Harry. After a moment of hesitation, as his words sunk in, Draco nodded in agreement. He knew that he would need help if he wanted to penetrate the Deatheaters lair, and get everyone out alive.

"Okay, well, we just need to trust each other," admitted Draco, "You guys have to realize that I want her back as much as you do," At his emotional words, Ron started.

"Why do _you_ want her back, Malfoy?" he asked, his glare returning to his face.

"None of your business, Weasel." Draco said calmly, looking back at the him.

"Like hell it isn't!! She is _my _sister!!" Ron yelled, his hands once again balling into fists.

"STOP!" yelled Harry, tired of this childish game. "We need to get over our differences, and go after her! We don't have time for this!" The three just stood there, glaring at each other.

"Let's go," said Draco as he headed for the door, not waiting for the other two to follow.

As the trio left the infirmary, Dumbeldore let himself melt away from the shadows. He had his knowing smile gracing his features, as he stared in the direction the young men had gone.

This was perfect! He knew that the young Gryffindors would come after Draco, and al l three of them needed to work together to save the youngest Weasly. They were her only hope.

Chapter 8: The Rescue


	8. The Rescue

Chapter 8: The Rescue

Disclaimer: I didn't think of it first, so, no, Harry Potter does not belong to me. tear

Ginny layed there, on the hard bed, not moving. The pain was not as prominent as it was before, but it was still ebbing its way through her entire body. She was frustrated, not only with herself, but with the fact that she had believed that she was safe at Hogwarts. She should have known better then to trust a Slytherin, let alone the Slytherin Prince himself. Had she really started to like him? Had she gone daft? Ginny fought against the tears that were once again welling up in her crystal blue eyes. She slowly lifted a heavy arm, so that she could wipe the offending tears angrily away. She had to stop feeling sorry for herself, because she needed to figure a way out of this. She slowly started to push herself up into a sitting position, so that she could look around the room. She closed her eyes, summoning up all the power within her. She tried to picture herself safe on Hogwarts grounds. She opened up her eyes, hoping she would see the castle staring back at her, but all she saw was the same dreary room. Her shoulders slumped in defeat. She knew it was a long shot, but she had to try and use her magic. She should have known _he_ had put up wards against her advanced magic. She again looked around the room, surely there was something in here that she could use against her captors.

As she scanned the room, her eyes fell on the dresser. Maybe there was something in the drawers that she could use as a weapon. She slowly lifted her aching body off the bed, and made her way slowly across the room to the wooden chest. As she reached it, she gripped the edge to keep herself steady. Merlin, how could she fight her way out of here if she could barely stand? She looked up into the mirror that was on top of the dresser. She gasped at her appearance. There were many marks allover her skin, some so deep that they were still red, and raw. Her eyes looked dull, dark circles making her look tired and old appeared beneath them. Gin reached a tentative hand up to touch her face, as if she didn't believe that the reflection was her own. It was. She tore her eyes away, disgusted, as she started to open the drawers. All she found were some little girls clothing, some pictures drawn by a child, and some old crayons. She was slightly confused as to why there were childrens things in this place, but she knew that she had no time to discover the reasons behind it. She had more important things to worry about. She closed the drawer, reaching out to the very last one. As she pulled it open, she heard voices outside her room. Ginny quickly shut the drawer, noiselessly, and stumbled back to the bed as quickly as her legs could handle. When the door did not open, she let out the breathe she hadn't known she had been holding in. This was not going well at all, she thought as she slammed her head against the pillow.

Meanwhile, the trio were making their way down to the Slytherin dungeons.

"I still don't see why we don't go the Gryffindor common room," said an annoyed Ron, as he stared warily around him, as if someone was going to come out and attack him at any moment. Draco guffawed at the reaction of Ron.

"What, is the little Gryffindor scared of the dark Slytherin dungeons?" Draco asked, teasing him. Ron puffed out his chest in defiance.

"I have never been afraid of Slytherin, Malfoy, and I don't plan on starting now," he said, glaring at the back of Draco.

"You're going to burn holes through my shirt, Weasel," Draco said, dryly. In response, Ron kicked at his back heel, making him trip. Draco regained his footing, and stopped abruptly, making Ron slam into his back. Draco turned to face him, his eyes threatening.

"This is not going to get Ginny back, Weasel, so, please, do us all a favour and grow up!" seethed Draco, as he crossed his arms over his chest. Ron was about to retort, when Harry went in between them.

"Ron, Draco is right, you need to stop fighting, if we want to get her back," Harry said, pleading with his friend to cool it. He opened his mouth to say something, but her merely looked away, ashamed, and nodded in agreement. Satisfied, Draco turned back around again, and continued on his way to his chamber.

The boys waited as Draco did whatever he had to do to gain access to his chamber, and then they all headed inside. The room was quite large, with library's of books lining the walls. There were expensive leather chairs sitting in front of the expansive fire place, perfect for reading. The Gryffindors were not really interested in the decor, but still stared in wonderment at what money could buy. Draco motioned them over to a chest sitting the corner of the room. The two followed him over, staring over his shoulder as he knelt to unlock it. As he pushed it open, Harry and Ron stared in wonderment, for there sat many items of the dark magic persuasion.

"Hey, these shouldn't be on Hogwarts grounds," said Harry matter-of-factly.

"Seriously Potter, does it really matter?" asked Draco, getting annoyed, "we need some of these to get to where Ginny is, so I really think that it is a good thing that I do not follow the rules," Harry merely nodded, knowing Draco was right. Ron reached his hand in to touch one of the items, when Draco slapped it away.

"Don't touch, Weasel, unless I tell you that you can," said Draco, as he himself reached in the chest. Ron pulled his hand to his chest, glaring at Draco.

"I do not take orders from a Slytherin," he said, glaring at Malfoy.

"Look, you don't know what many of theses things are, so I would rather you not touch them in case you end up killing us all." Draco replied, his voice devoid of emotion. Draco lifted his hand up, still searching in the chest with his other, and a bag flew right into it. Ron stared in wonderment.

"How did you-?" he started, when Draco silenced him with a look. As Draco was pulling many different vials out filled with putrid looking substances, as well as different powders, he put them into the sac.

"What is this for?" asked Harry, as he picked up a vile of blue coloured liquid. He noticed something swimming in it. Draco looked up at him, and grabbed the vile out of his hand, putting it back in the sac.

"That eats through any wall, made of stone, steel, or metal," he stated, as if teaching a child. Harry looked affronted, but merely nodded, not wanting to pick a fight. He knew that they needed Draco expertise if they were going to make it in, and out of there alive. He didn't know where _it_ was, but obviously Draco did.

"So, where are they holding her?" he asked, curiosity getting the better of him. Draco never even looked up at him, as he was mentally checking of his list of things he needed.

"At the Manor, where else?" he said as if it were the most simple thing in the world, and Ron and Harry were dolts because they didn't know.

"What is '_The Manor'_?" asked Ron, making quotation marks with his fingers. Draco rolled his eyes, these two were getting on his last nerve.

"The Manor is like the headquarters to the Deatheaters. I'm not supposed to know where it is, but because my father is high in command, I was privy to this information." he said, not explaining any further. Harry wanted to know more, but he knew that Draco would not tell them all the details.

"Is it hard to infiltrate?" Harry asked simply.

"Yes, very, but luckily I have these," he said holding up two vials holding a familiar looking substance. Ron and Harry looked at each other, grimacing.

"Is that what I think it is?" asked Ron, gulping noticeably.

"If what your thinking is Polyjuice potion, then yes," said Draco, smirking. Harry did not like the memory that came to mind, as he stared at the chunky looking amber liquid.

As soon as Draco finished taking all the supplies that they might need, the three set out on their journey.

"Why can't we just apparate?" asked Ron, getting frustrated with not knowing where they were going.

"Stupid Weasel, of course we can't apparate! The Manor's whereabouts change every few hours. And even if you do successfully apparate to its present location, you would be killed on the spot. There is a certain spell that the Deatheaters use to appear at the Manor, but you must have a Dark Mark to do so," said Draco, looking ahead of him as he explained it to them, "I'm usually with my father when I go, but I still know the spell on how to find it,"

"Well, why aren't you doing it then?" asked Ron, as he gestured frustratingly with his arms, "We could be going in the wrong direction!" Draco gave him an exasperated look.

"You have to perform the spell from certain parts of the world, the one for here is in the Dark Forest, near the nest of Spiders,"

"Oh," was all that Ron said, as he had the decency to look ashamed at his dis trust in Draco's ability. He also had a look of fear on his face, as Draco spoke of the spiders that inhabit the forest. Draco smirked at that, knowing how much Weasly hated spiders.

The trio made their way into the forest, Ron making small noises at any sound he heard that was not their feet against the ground.

"Ron, would you stop?" asked Harry, getting increasingly annoyed with his best friend. Ron glared at him.

"I am oh so sorry that I am offending you, oh great chosen one!" he said, sarcastically. Harry decided to ignore him, and continued walking. Harry held the branch in front of him away from his face as he kept walking, then let it go, so it slapped his friend right across his face.

"Oy!" he screamed, as Draco and Harry both snickered.

"Nice one, Pothead," said Draco. Harry smiled, not knowing how to react to the first kind word that Draco had ever uttered to him. Still, he had insulted him in the same sentence, but it was a start, right?

Draco led them along for another ten minutes, going deeper and deeper into the forest, until he stopped at a large tree separating their path in two. The tree had a large hole in the front of it, and Harry jumped back as he saw a snake poke its head out of it. Draco reached his hand out to it, and let it sink its teeth into the fleshy part of his palm. The other two visibly flinched, but Draco did not even move. As blood started to ooze from the bite, the snake let go, slithering back in to the hole. The tree then started to shake, dead leaves falling on top of their heads. The boys felt the ground start to shake beneath their feet as well, until, as suddenly as it started, it ended.

"What was that?" asked Harry, barely above a whisper. Draco looked at the two holes on his hand, the blood crimson against his white skin.

"that, boys, is how you find the Manor, and I don't suggest that you try it on your own, because only ones of Deatheater ancestry can let the snake bite them and live." Harry and Ron nodded vigorously. Draco turned to them, as he fished out two vials from his sac.

"Drink these now," he said, "don't worry, I brewed it myself, and made a few modifications," Ron looked at him warily.

"What _kind_ of modifications?" he asked.

"I merely made it stronger, so that the wards in the Manor could not detect it." he said, shrugging his shoulder non-committal like, "the last ones who tried to get in using Polyjuice were given not so quick deaths by Voldemort himself. For some reason, ol' Voldy gets a little cranky when you lot try to get in to his secret Manor," Harry hoped that Draco really was on their side, or him and Ron were dead. Harry eyed Draco, and decided that saving Ginny was worth it, so he popped off the stopper on top of the vial, and chugged down the awful tasting liquid. Ron followed suit, trusting Harry's instincts.

Harry felt the blood in his veins go hot, as his skin started to bubble. He doubled over, pain gripping at his stomach. He looked over at Ron, and saw he was in the same predicament. Harry looked to his hands, and found they were larger, and more weathered. He looked over again at Ron, and saw his red hair change into a dark brown. The pain started to subside, as he saw Ron was very ugly. He couldn't help but snicker.

"You are down right ugly, there, Ron," Harry laughed. Ron had pock marks all over his face, and one eye was larger then the other. Harry also noticed that Ron was slightly hunched over, because of the hump protruding from his back. Ron glared.

"Speak for yourself, there Harry," he said, smirking as well. Harry shrugged his shoulders, no doubt he was just as ugly, at least he couldn't see himself.

"Okay, so Harry, your name is Jerrick Micklon, and Ron, they call you Stampy," Draco said, smirking at the last statement.

"Stampy?" Ron asked, incredulously. Draco and Harry laughed at him.

"Yes, Stampy, I don't really know why, I would have called you Humpy," Draco said, smirking, "I chose these guys because I knew that one day their knack for being silent would come in handy,"

"They don't talk much?" asked Ron, stupidly. Draco turned his gray stare to him, smirking.

"No, you dimwit, hence why I chose them. Stop making me repeat myself!" Ron glared, but Harry laughed, starting to like the sense of humour the Slytherin was equipped with.

"That was pretty intelligent, Malfoy," Harry said, genuinely appreciative of the others smarts. Draco looked at him, sizing him up to see if he was being serious. Deciding that he was, he nodded, and then walked towards the tree, as if he was going to clam right in to it.

"Hey, wait!" yelled Harry, as he reached his hand towards Draco, stopping him. He turned back around to face him, confusion on his face.

"What?" he asked, wondering why they were wasting more time, when Ginny could already be dead.

"Don't you have anything to tell us? Like, how we're supposed to act when we get there?" said Harry, gesturing to the boy. Draco nodded.

"Of course, well, just don't talk and don't get separated from me," he said simply. Harry rolled his eyes.

"Nothing else? What if they address us?" he asked, getting frustrated.

"Well, just grunt, that's all you two do anyways! Look, if it'll make you feel any better, when we get there, you can also nod!"

"Merlin, Malfoy, we just need to know how to act, we've never been there, and have no idea how Deatheaters act, so if you could shed some light on the situation, then maybe we wouldn't be so nervous." Said Ron, finally speaking.

"It's quite simple, act slimy and self-interested. Deatheaters don't think of much else except serving their master, and serving themselves. As long as you act like you obey every word that Voldermort utters, then we should be fine. Oh, and Ron, keep your Weasly temper in check, especially when we find her," Draco said, looking away from them, "I don't know what kind of shape she will be in when we do." Ron nodded, trying not to think of what those bastards had done to his baby sister. On that note, Draco continued walking towards the tree. As he got to it, the hole became big enough for him to step through, and the others followed suit. Ron was a little hesitant to follow, but he saw something harry out of the corner of his eye, so he ran right into the hole. When they got to the other side, Ron slammed in to the back of Harry, causing him to stumble slightly.

"Way to go, R-Stampy," he said, glaring at him, as he whispered, remembering to say his new name, "way to be subtle," Draco motioned for the two to be quiet, as they looked around to where they had ended up. Harry was not that impressed, as he was excpecting something really lavish, it being Voldemorts lair after all. But what was staring the trio in the face was what looked like a broken down old Victorian house.

"Not very impressive," said Ron, voicing Harry's opinions out loud. Harry nodded in agreement.

"Of course not from the outside you gits, inside it looks like a castle!" he said, almost proudly, but caught himself. This wasn't his life anymore, and he was glad.

"And you should know by now that not everything in the magical world is as it seems," he said with an air of mystery. Ron rolled his eyes at him.

"Dramatic much?" he said, smirking. Draco glared at him, slapping his hump back hard, but making it look like it was in a friendly manor, as some Deatheaters passed them, nodding their greeting. Draco nodded back, as did Harry. Ron only grimaced. The Deatheaters acted like that was normal for Stampy, as they walked on.

"Alright, boys, just follow my lead," he said, as he walked up to the door. There was a silver knocker on the door, in the figure of a snake, go figure. Harry reached up to use it, because Draco was just standing there, when it started to knock all on its own.

"Jerrick, don't touch anything, okay?" said Draco, glaring at him, whispering, "It starts to work on its own as it assesses the people before it, making sure they're Deatheaters, or descendants." Harry quickly took his hand away from the door, placing it back at his side. Ron snickered at the fact he got chastised by a Slytherin. Harry glared at him, and was about to hit him on his hump, like Draco had, when the door creaked open to reveal an enormous foyer, everything outlined in Gold. He smirked at the colour scheme, Slytherin green. Once a Slytherin always a Slytherin.

"Come'on," Draco said, walking inside. The two followed him, trying not to look like this was their first time inside.

"Okay," said Draco is a whisper, "I'm not too sure where they're keeping her, but I have a few good ideas," Harry and Ron nodded, following him as he went through corridor after corridor. They stopped in front of a bolted door, and Draco reached out his hand, waving it in front of it. They heard the sliding of the deadbolt, as the door unlocked. Draco reached to the nob, and turned it. He creaked the door open, and looked inside. It was empty, so he shut it and continued along the corridor.

"I figured that wouldn't be it, there wasn't anyone outside of the door, guarding it," he said, as if to himself, barely above a whisper "I think he is keeping her in _her _room." Ron and Harry looked at each other when he said that.

"_Her_ room? What does that mean," asked Ron, his voice now gravely instead of his normal tone.

"You don't want to know, Stampy," he said, eyeing him out of the corner of his eye.

"Is it that bad?" he asked, hoping that his sister wasn't in some dungeon.

"The room is actually quite comfortable," Draco said, not continuing in his description of it. Ron was about to press for more, when a Deatheater walked by, eyeing them suspiciously.

"What are you doing in this wing?" he said, slimily. Draco glared at him.

"What are _you_ doing in this wing?" he threw the question back at him. This threw the Deatheater off guard, but he quickly composed himself.

"I have clearance to be here, you do not!" he said, advancing on Draco.

"I am the one that captured her, so I have every right to be here, so back off," he said, authority filling every core of his being, making the other step away from him.

"Oh, Mr. Malfoy, I am sorry," he said, "She is in the Princesses room, in case you wanted to know," he was trying to make up for his fumble. Voldemort would not be pleased if he found out that he had disrespected the Malfoy Heir, the one responsible for their latest victory. Draco nodded, signalling to the Deatheater that he could leave. He nodded and turned to go the other direction, leaving the three to themselves. The other two were dumbfounded. They had heard what Draco had said, about being responsible.

"What the bloody hell was that? Are you really responsible for her being captured?" asked Harry, getting angry. Draco turned to them.

"In a way yes, but I had refused to help. I knew that my father would not have told Voldemort that, and would have lied, telling him that I was more then willing. He does not want his master to be angered with me, so close to the age that the Death mark is awarded." Draco explained, wishing he had told them sooner, so that they wouldn't doubt his loyalty.

"Why are you partly to blame?" asked Ron, not sure if he should be in a rage, or what.

"Because, I led her straight to my father," he said, looking away from them, clearly ashamed.

"Oh," was all they could say, as Draco started to move again. Harry let the latest information flow over him, as he pondered Draco's words. He could easily be lying to them, but he had seen such passion in his eyes. Harry was thoroughly confused, but decided to focus on the task at hand. He couldn't turn back now even if he wanted to. Then a thought struck him.

"Who is the Princess?" he asked, not quite understanding.

"It was her room I figured she would be in," Draco said, not looking at the other two, "The Princess is Voldemort's heir."

a/n: Well, I hope you liked the eighth chapter! Please review and tell me what you think...thanks :)


	9. Trust is Not for the Faint of Heart

Underestimated

Disclaimer: I own nothing that is of the Harry Potter Genre...: (

Chapter 9: Trust is Not for the Faint of Heart

The figure, that was more creature than man, sat on an elegant leather chair, staring into the mesmerizing fire before him. He propped his elbow up on the arm of the chair, as he placed his head on his hand. The look on his face was one of frustration. After all of the hard work he had put in to his plan, it was all unravelling around him, twisting at his feet, making him trip. The Weasly girl was going to be his undoing if he did not get what he sought from her, and Lord Voldermort was far from finished.

"Lord Voldemort?" asked a quivering voice from behind his chair. The Lord sighed in annoyance at being interrupted.

"_What_ is it?" he asked, growling slightly, as he flicked his hand, making the chair turn to face the young man. The minion jumped back a few steps, the fear that his Lord placed in him was crippling.

"I was told to tell you that young Mr. Malfoy has come to the Manor," he said, not looking at the thing in front of him. A crooked smile appeared on his face, as he pushed himself up off the chair.

"Excellent," he seethed, "Send for him at once! I wish to congratulate him on a job well done," With his orders, the young page set off to find the heir, glad to be out of the stifling presence of his master.

"Voldemort...has a...heir?" asked Harry, choking on his words, "How? What? When?" Draco rolled his gray eyes at his questions, of course, they didn't know. Dumbledore, the knower of all, must not have discovered her yet. Interesting. Draco started to walk in the opposite direction, as the two followed him, awaiting his next words.

"Yes, he does, Harry, and now is not the time to discuss it!" he said.

"This is huge, Malfoy!" said Ron, "don't you think we should know this?"

"Did you forget that you're mute, _Stampy?_" said Draco, eyeing him warily. Ron quickly shut his mouth, and looked around to see if anyone had heard.

"This is not the time or place to discuss this, all will be revealed in due course!" he said, walking almost at a run now, as he knew they were nearing her room, "We must focus on the task at hand." Harry was about to reply when he saw a Deatheater come at them. His immediate response was to pull out his wand and attack, but then he realized that he was one of them.

"Draco Malfoy?" he said, as he stepped in front of Draco, stopping his process. Draco looked up at him, his eyes sharing no emotion at all, but inside he was fuming.

"What?" he asked airily. The Deatheater grinned, and motioned him to follow as he commenced walking back the way he had come.

"Where are we going?" asked Draco, as he stood his ground.

"The master wishes an audience with you, and you must obey, he does not like to be kept waiting," said the young Deatheater, as he looked back at the heir. Draco nodded, as he turned to his two companions.

"The door to her room is down the next hall, two to the left, go there and see if you can get in, if not, wait for me there," he said, in a whisper. The other two nodded, as Draco turned, and followed the Deatheater to the last place in the world that he wanted to be.

The Lord of all that was magically evil, sat back down in his chair, as he waited for the young Malfoy Heir. He had sensed in his father, that there was something amiss with the capture of the youngest Weasly, that he was not getting the whole truth. Instead of knocking heads right away, he had decided to discover what exactly was going on, on his own. No one dared lie to Lord Voldemort, and he felt that Lucius was not that stupid. Perhaps he was wrong, for one would do anything for their child. Well, if that child is his only heir. Lucius would not lie out of love, for that is not an emotion that he possesses anymore, but out of necessity. What Voldemort had to discover was if it truly was _necessary._ A knock on the door signalled the arrival of Draco, and with a wave of his hand, the door creaked open. A silver blonde head peered around the door, not daring to go any further.

"Ah, young Mr. Malfoy, please, enter," he said, as the boy nodded and stepped into the room. The young boy knelt before him, bowing his head in submission.

"Please, rise," he said, "you of all people need not practice that formality in my presence," The young man gave him a confused look.

"Forgive me, master, but why not?" he asked, as diplomatically as possible for he did not wish to anger the Lord.

"Well, you _are_ the one that captured young Miss. Weasly for me, I must thank you!" he said in explanation. Malfoy sneered, which was as close to a smile Voldemort figured he got.

"Thank you, Master, but I cannot take all the credit, my father was very instrumental in her capture as well," he said, bowing once more in thanks. Voldemort eyed him.

"It is not that you cannot, I'm sure, it's that you father will not _let _you take all the credit, I'm sure," said Lord Voldemort, and Draco looked away, neither denying or confirming his suspicions.

"You are mistaken, my lord, father is the one who should get all the credit, I merely stood there and did nothing," Draco explained, actually telling the truth. A version of the truth that would not end up in his death. Voldemort eyed him again, as if he was searching for something that Draco hoped he would not find.

"Yes, well, that is all well and good, but I must say that capturing her was the easy part," said Voldemort. Draco's eyes shot up, waiting for the Lord to go further in to detail. As Voldemort continued to stay silent, Draco got impatient.

"Master, but why is it the easy part?" he asked finally. Voldemort smirked. _There was something odd about this boy, he seems too interested in how the Weasly is fairing, _he thought.

"Why is this important for you to know?" he asked, egging the young man on . Draco turned slightly red at his master's question, and opened and closed his mouth, trying to form the words to explain.

"Well?" Voldemort asked, becoming impatient.

"I just-well, because I was apart of the capture, perhaps I could be of service now," he said, hoping that was enough to satisfy the Lord. Voldemort nodded, still eyeing him warily.

"Well, perhaps. What I want from her is eluding me as of late, after all of my careful planning, she will not give in." he explained. Draco smiled inwardly, as he felt immense pride in that fact that she was being strong. He mentally chastised himself, and looked once again on his master.

"Well, have you tried the Imperius curse," he asked, knowing full well that wouldn't work because he had heard his father say so.

"Yes, of course, I had already thought of that. But the nature of this certain task is one that must be done willingly. That curse is of no use to me." he said, suspiciously. Draco nodded, not wanting to say anything in fear that he would let his true feelings slip. Perhaps he had already done so.

Voldemort was sure that this boy was hiding something from him, and he did not like it when his minions were secretive.

"What is it that you are not telling me, Malfoy?" he said, anger seeping into his words. Malfoy flinched slightly at the anger he heard in Voldemort's tone. Yet, he did not give him the satisfaction of looking scared. Draco stared Voldemort straight in the eye, not yielding, or budging an inch.

"I do not keep secrets from my Lord," he said, simply. Voldemort nodded, still eyeing him with contempt. He would take that explanation for now, but he _would_ get to the bottom of this. The Malfoy heir was not as cunning as he thought, and his father would be the one to pay.

"Fine. One more question, why have you come today?" he asked, reaching his hand up. Immediately a glass appeared in it, filled with a murky sort of liquid. Draco stared at the glass, not recognizing the potion inside, as he answered.

"I came to see about the Weasly girl, I am quite interested in her process," he said, his eyes never straying from the glass as the Lord lifted it to his non-existent lips. Voldemort let the liquid seep down his throat, the potion biting at his throat. He swallowed the mixture, and looked once again to the young man before him.

"I see, very well then. As I have already told you, the process is slow. But, I have waited years for this, so what is a few more months?" the Lord said nonchalantly. Draco nodded in agreement.

"Indeed," he replied. Voldemort nodded, as he waved him out, signalling his presence was no longer needed in the 'royal' chambers. As if to solidify this assumption, Lord Voldemort waved his hand, and his chair turned once again to face the burning fire. Draco stared at the back of the chair for a moment longer, taking in all the new information he had just received, and then turned to leave the Lord's presence. Draco wanted nothing more than to run to her room, but he knew that would be way too out of character.

"Is this it?" asked Ron, as he pointed to a door to his left. Harry merely nodded as he felt so close to victory. Harry was still undecided as to where Draco's loyalties ly, because after all Voldemort _was_ requesting an audience with him. This could all be according to their plan. Harry shook his head to banish his current thought process, because he knew that his Ginny was on the other side of that door. He had to get her back in to his life safely. Harry didn't know what he would do without her. The young man didn't know when he had started to feel this way about her, but when she had gone missing, he almost went mad. He realized that he really could loose her, and he felt responsible for not being there for her. Why hadn't he seen this sooner, this attraction he had for her? He knew that he had taken her for granted, but as soon as they got her back, that would all change. Harry purposefully reached for the door knob, as a hand from his side shot out to stop him.

"What do you think you are doing, Jerrick?" asked a Deatheater. Harry looked up at him, at a loss for words. He stood there for a moment, as if suspended in time. The other before him merely looked at him with confusion.

"Do not worry, Hankton, he is merely checking up on the youngest Weasly, by order of our Master," said a voice from behind them. The one called Hankton looked to the new arrival.

"Malfoy, but I received no such order, and I am the one in charge of her security," he said menacingly. Draco sighed in frustration.

"That is because I was just with the Lord, and he told me personally," he challenged, staring the older man straight in the face, exerting his air of superiority, "you wouldn't want to disturb him now, but if you must, you may go and ask him," Hankton looked to ponder this for a second, but decided to let it go. Nobody wanted to disturb the Master when there was no need, this only served to anger him. The Deatheater nodded, walking away from them. Harry heard Ron let out a sigh of relief as he watched the Deatheater walk away.

"That was way too close," said Ron, in a whisper.

"Yes, quite," said Draco, as he waved his hand in front of the door, while saying something in the language of the snakes. Harry didn't have time to think about what he said, as the door was pushed open by some invisible force. Draco walked inside, and motioned for the other two to follow.

"Ginny?" Draco asked tentatively, looking around the room. His eyes settled to a hump on the bed. He quickly ran over to the bed, forgetting to mask his emotions as the sight of seeing her ran deep inside of him. Harry and Ron looked at each other, but also proceeded in to the room after Malfoy.

As Draco reached the bed, he sat down at the side of it, so that he was facing her. He noticed that her face was not peaceful as she slept, and that it was bruised and cut, deeply. Anger boiled up inside the young man, as guilt surged through his heart. Draco held himself responsible for all that was done to Ginny. He reached out to her to pull her hair off her face, as he whispered, "I am sorry, Ginny," barely loud enough for the other two to hear. Harry and Ron stepped forward, wanting to see Gin was alright as well. Ron gasped as he saw the effects of certain curses marring her face, and he couldn't help but feel guilty. He should have been there for her, should have been a better brother to her. He had failed her. As Harry looked to her, he felt the same guilt as the other two had. He looked away, the pain too great.

Ginny felt a hand caress her face, and almost thought she was back in the Burrow, and her mother was trying to awaken her, just in time to get some breakfast before the boys got to it. Ginny started to open her eyes, a smile on her face, but it was quickly erased as she saw who it was that had touched her. Her eyes started to fill with fear, and than out right hatred and rage. Draco looked taken back slightly, but realized that of course she would react like this. Ginny glanced behind Draco and saw two horrible looking Deatheaters. Ginny let out a small whimper, wondering what horrors awaited her now, as she pushed herself up, ignoring the pain, and edging to the very end of the bed. She wanted to get as far away from the three as possible.

"Ginny, please, don't be frightened, we won't hurt you," said Harry, his voice that of Jerrick's, which was cold, and gravely. Ginny stared at him, disbelief evident in her eyes.

"I shall never trust another one of you lot ever again, do not try to fool me with your words of reassurance!" she said, ever defiant, "Go to hell!!"

"No, Ginny, please, it's me, Ron," said Ron, still cloaked by the disgusting body of Stampy. His voice was no better than Jerricks. Ginny looked at him, closely, then shook her head,

"Please, do not try and fool me, I am done with these games!" she yelled, pulling her knees up to her chest, "just do what you came to do, and then leave," Draco frowned at her. Voldemort was so close to breaking her, that it scared him. What horrors had she faced in here?

"Gin, believe them for they speak the truth," said Draco, speaking for the first time since she had awoken, "I know that you do not trust me, but believe that I had nothing to do with your capture," he pleaded with his eyes, hoping that she would discover the words he so desperately wanted to find. Ginny stared at him, eyeing him warily. She wanted to believe him, she really did. But she did not know what to believe anymore, her life had turned upside down. She stared into his eyes, searching for anything that would guide her to the truth. She saw a glimmer of hope appear in his eyes, and smiled.

"Draco?" she said, tentatively, " what have you done to Harry and Ron?" she laughed lightly, as the others broke in to three very odd looking smiles.

A/n Here is chapter 9. I hope that you liked it! I am getting a bit discouraged though, because noone has reviewed as of late, so I have decided not to update again till I get a couple reviews. This way, I will know whether or not it is really worth putting it up here. Please let me know:) thanks guys, you rock!


	10. Hand grenades and horse shoes

Underestimated

Disclaimer: Nothing of Harry Potter is mine...sadly

Chapter 10:

"I think its an improvement," smirked Draco, as he looked to the other two, nodding his head in agreement to his own statement. The other two looked affronted.

"Well, at least we don't look like you, Malfoy," said Ron, glaring at him.

"Nice one, Ron," said Gin sarcastically, in a weak voice, as she smiled at her brother. Gin felt all these emotions swell up in her, Ron had come for her. She had felt recently that maybe Ron just didn't need her anymore, as if he didn't want her around anymore. She had felt heartbroken, because she loved her brother so much. This, his coming to rescue her, only disproves what she thought, he really does care about her. She smiled at him, still a little creeped out by the body he was in at the present moment.

"As nice as this little reunion is, the polyjuice potion will be wearing off soon, and we need to get outta here," said Draco, as he lifted himself off of the bed, reaching a hand out to Ginny to take. She smiled up at him, glad for once that she had been wrong. She let his large hand encompass hers, as he lifted her up off the bed, with little effort. As soon as she was on her feet the other two, who were still disguised as Deatheaters, came towards her and grabbed her in an enormous hug.

"Ew! Sorry guys, but you really are creepy looking," she said, as Harry and Ron both let go of her, laughing.

"Right, how do we get out of here with her in tow?" asked Harry, not sure if Draco had thought that far ahead.

"Well, I guess, we hope that we don't run into anyone," he said, shrugging his shoulders.

"What?" said Ron, incredulously, "that's your big plan? _Hope we don't run in to anyone?_ Brilliant!"

"Well, excuse me, but I didn't know that I was supposed to be the brains of this operation! Oh, but what am I saying, of course I would be, silly me," he said dryly, angered at the middle Weasly child.

"Sod off, Malfoy," said Ron, as his face went red with anger.

"Harry, how in the name of Merlin did you all get here in one piece?" asked Gin, as she eyed the other two, who were glaring openly at each other.

"I guess, its because of you," he said, almost shyly, as he blushed slightly. Ginny stared at him, taken aback, but turned her attention back to the feuding pair, who had now begun to throw obscenities at each other.

"Will you two stop it!" yelled Gin, who immediately started to cough, as her voice was raw.

"Gin, you okay?" said Draco, as he went to her side, rubbing her back as her coughing fit started to subside. She smiled up at him.

"I'll be fine, but not for much longer if we stand around here chatting all day," she said pointedly. Draco nodded in agreement, as he tried to figure out exactly how to get her out.

This was going to be tricky, for, to tell the truth, he hadn't really thought that far ahead. His only mission was to make sure that she was okay, he figured because he felt it was his fault that she had gotten captured in the first place. He stood there thinking, as the others stared at him intently, as if waiting for that damn lightbulb to appear above his head. He growled.

"This must be how Granger feels!" he said, alluding to the fact that Hermione was the one who always got them out of any mess they were in.

"Probably," admitted Ron, "and we should have brung her, because maybe then we would get out of here alive!"

"Don't start, Ron," said Gin, warily. Ron wanted to refute, but did not want to upset her. He was glad that she was okay, but saw how tired, and frail she looked. He was worried about her, and what she had gone through. What had Voldemort wanted with his little sister?

"Hey, I have an idea," quipped up Harry, "I brought along my invisibility cloak, perhaps we could hide her in it," he offered, as he reached for the cloak that he always kept in his pocket. He had figured out a charm to make it smaller, so that he could take it anywhere with him. He pulled out his wand from his back pocket, muttering the word '_Engorgio'_, making the cloak revert to its original size.

"That just might work," said Draco, nodding, "as long as we do not run in to Voldemort, for he can see right through those things," Harry walked over to Gin, and draped the cloak over her, making her disappear immediately.

The group of four made their way to the door of the room that had held Gin captive for almost three weeks. As they walked through the opening, Draco looked around to make sure that there Hankton had not returned to his post. Thankfully, the hallway looked barren.

"We might just pull this off guys," said a confident Draco, as he began to make his way down the dimly lit hallway. The other three followed him, only one not being able to be seen. Inside Ginny was screaming, she wanted so much to be out of this place, but felt this deep connection to the room that she had been taken to. There was something inside this Manor that was calling to her. Something that she needed to discover. She hadn't told the others of her feelings, afraid that they would think that she had gone insane while under the nose of Voldemort. Maybe, she had gone mad. She wasn't sure, and until she was, she wasn't about to say anything to anyone.

Suddenly, Gin stopped mid stride for no apparent reason, making Ron who was bringing up the rear to smash in to her.

"Oy, what's going on?" he asked, careful not to say her name, in case anyone happened upon them. Harry and Draco stopped as well, and looked behind them.

"Why you stopping, Stampy?" asked Harry, puzzled.

"It wasn't me," Ron said simply. Draco stepped forward, listening intently for Gin's breathing. He now stood directly in front of her, and reached out to where he thought her hand was. As soon as Gin felt someone touch her hand, and hold it in his, she snapped out of the trance that she was in.

"Gin," Draco said in a whisper, "we have to keep moving," Ginny nodded even though she knew he couldn't see her. Ginny had stopped because she had felt that same feeling she had felt in the room creep up her spine. It was telling her to take the hallway that she was now staring down, but when Draco stopped her, she knew that she was not in the position to investigate. Her first priority was getting out of there, with everyone and herself still breathing.

They started on their way again, wary of every little noise and shadow. As Draco neared the front foyer once again, he almost felt like yelling out in victory, but also knew that that had been way to easy.

"Hey, you there, what are you doing here?" asked an angry voice from behind them. Draco turned around, and saw that Stampy was once again Ron, his red hair sticking out like a sore thumb. Harry was beginning to turn as well, his glasses once again gracing his face.

"Oh, I was just giving them a guided tour," said Draco, smirking, as he motioned for the others to run out the door. The Deatheater that had stopped them, called to the others, as he pulled out his wand, yelling a curse as he did so. Draco countered it with his own, as he did not need his wand.

"You'll have to do better than that," he said, as he noticed the others had not gone ahead like he had wanted.

"What are you still doing here?" he asked, fuming, "get her out of here, that is the reason why we came!"

"We know, but we can't leave you here to fight them by yourself," said Harry, glaring at him. Draco was about to say something when he felt a searing pain go through his body. Draco fought against the pain, yelling a curse back at the ever duplicating crowd. They were definitely out of their league here, but Draco would fight none the less, he was a Malfoy, and Malfoy's did not give up. The pain subsided as he saw the one who had hit him with it had fallen to the ground. He looked beside him and saw Harry smirk.

"Thanks," said Draco, mirroring his smirk. Harry and Ron stood on either side of Malfoy, both with their wands poised and at the ready, as curse after curse was sent towards them. It had started to become too much, as Draco saw Ron fall the ground, riving in pain. The Deatheaters were laughing at them, for they knew that this fight would be over soon. Draco was about to counter another curse that was being thrown at him, when there was suddenly a bright, white light encompassed the entire room. Draco was slightly blinded, as he brought his hand up to shield his eyes, and saw that the Deatheaters had all fallen to the ground. As quickly as it had come, it disappeared, and he heard a small thud from behind him. He quickly whipped around to find Gin lying on the ground, the cloak discarded at her side. He quickly knelt down to scoop her up in to his arms, as the other stared in disbelief.

"What was that?" asked Ron, still staring at his motionless sister.

"I have no idea, but we need to get out of here fast, who knows when they will awaken" Draco said, as he nodded his head towards the forms of the Deatheaters. They all nodded, and ran out the door, and towards the tree that they had first come through.

On the other side, safe for now, they made their way through the Dark Forest, careful not to alert any of the creatures to their presence. As they neared the edge of the forest, Harry broke the silence.

"I thought for sure that we weren't going to make it," he said, still in disbelief over what had taken place at the Manor.

"I'm not even sure what really happened," said Ron, "but it obviously involves Gin," All three of them looked to the youngest of the group, all pondering the same question. They almost ran the rest of the way to Hogwarts, Draco the first inside. He started to make his way to the hospital wing, as the other two followed.

"Can one of you go and get Dumbeldore, I feel he knows more about this then the old man is telling," Draco said, not even looking back to see if they complied with his order. As he heard a set of foot steps start running in the opposite direction, Draco looked to his side to find a determined looking Harry. Once they reached the infirmary, Draco placed Ginny in the closest bed, yelling for Madame Pomfrey.

"Draco, what on earth?" started the aging medi-witch, "oh!" she screamed as she saw Ginny lying there. She immediately went to her side, pulling out this potion and that.

A/n I am very sorry that this is the only update in a long time. I have had problems with my internet hook up at my new place, so I finally got home and am using my parents computer. Gah. Newho, as I type, I am working on chapter 11 and 12, so I will hopefully have one or both up for you in the next 2 weeks :) tell what you think of this chapter, mmkay:) thank you so very much for all of your wonderful reviews, they made me smile!! You guys ROCK:)


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